Analysis of My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free
Thomas Parnell 1679 (Dublin) – 1718
My days have been so wondrous free,
The little birds that fly
With careless ease from tree to tree,
Were but as bless'd as I.
Ask gliding waters, if a tear
Of mine increas'd their stream?
Or ask the flying gales, if e'er
I lent one sigh to them?
But now my former days retire,
And I'm by beauty caught;
The tender chains of sweet desire
Are fix'd upon my thought.
Ye nightingales, ye twisting pines!
Ye swains that haunt the grove!
Ye gentle echoes, breezy winds!
Ye close retreats of love!
With all of nature, all of art,
Assist the dear design;
Oh teach a young, unpractic'd heart
To make my Nancy mine!
The very thought of change I hate,
As much as of despair;
Nor ever covet to be great,
Unless it be for her.
'Tis true, the passion in my mind
Is mix'd with soft distress;
Yet while the fair I love is kind,
I cannot wish it less.
Scheme | ABAB CXDX XXDX XXXX EFEF GCGD HIHI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Quatrain (43%) |
Metre | 11111101 010111 11011111 011111 11010101 110111 110101110 111111 11110101 011101 010111010 110111 111101 111101 11010101 110111 11110111 010101 110111 111101 01011111 111101 11010111 011110 11010011 111101 11011111 110111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 842 |
Words | 164 |
Sentences | 12 |
Stanzas | 7 |
Stanza Lengths | 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4 |
Lines Amount | 28 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 91 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 23 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 51 sec read
- 87 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"My Days Have Been So Wondrous Free" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/37027/my-days-have-been-so-wondrous-free>.
Discuss this Thomas Parnell poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In